Dmitry Peskov

Russian presidential spokesman

"Sanctions conform to international law. In this case, we don’t recognize those unilateral restrictions as legitimate sanctions because we deem them to be illegal. So it will probably be more correct to say ‘limitations’ or ‘restrictions,' but not sanctions.”

Moscow has challenged the legitimacy of the term “sanctions” regarding Western measures to counteract Russian actions in Ukraine and beyond, calling them illegal. But when it comes to being an actor on the international stage, the law is something that Moscow appeals to selectively.

Talal Naji

Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

“We love and are proud of President Vladimir Putin, because he is a friend of Palestine and not only Palestine, but all the people who are seeking freedom. President Putin succeeded in restoring Russia’s authority in the international arena and forced all to respect Russia.”

Independent polls show trust and respect for Russia and its president has significantly decreased globally. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has suppressed insurgencies in Chechnya and in Syria. Moscow has lost its membership or voting privileges in multiple international organizations.

Interfax

Russian news agency

“The U.S. president’s National Security Adviser John Bolton stated on Wednesday at a press conference in Baku that the United States currently has no plans to impose additional sanctions against Russia.”

Alexei Miller

Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO Gazprom, Russia

“Miller emphasized that Gazprom is discussing with China an increase in [gas] deliveries via the Power of Siberia [pipeline] using only its own capacities. ‘We can ourselves can [do it]. This is Gazprom’s production capacity,” he said… ‘In the future, after [we succeed in supplying] the 30 billion [cubic meters a year], we can talk about an increase, but at this moment we are talking about 30 billion cubic meters’.”

The construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline is in its final phase, but Gazprom will not be ready to deliver the promised volume by the set deadline because two oil and gas condensate fields needed for this have not yet been developed.

John Wight

RT Contributor

“Indeed it is arguable that without his prolonged visit to the U.S. in 1959, Khrushchev may not have been so willing to accommodate JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis three years later in 1962 – the reason being that only in visiting the country or countries of his adversaries is a leader able to humanize it beyond the realm of geopolitical differences. In 2018, due to the unbounded anti-Russia fever that has Washington in its grip, it is highly unlikely that any such visit to the U.S. by Russian President Vladimir Putin will be taking place anytime soon, nor to Russia by his U.S. counterpart, President Trump. In this respect at least, the hard lessons of the twentieth century have been lost.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has much more experience “visiting the country of his adversaries,” with his nine publicly known visits to the U.S., than did Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who only visited America once. Thus, the author’s argument is baseless.

Valentina Matvienko

Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation

“In our country, the average salary of women is 74% of the average salary of men. However, you can console yourself with the fact that in 2005 this figure was only 60%. It seems that there have been changes for the better. But the gap still persists, and it is large.”

Vesti

news program, Rossiya 1 TV channel

“The city has changed dramatically in recent years; bicycle paths have appeared, the historical center has been restored. Now there's greenery everywhere. Omsk is becoming an eco-friendly, modern city.”

Not all the footage Vesti used in its report about Vladimir Putin’s visit to Omsk was of Omsk. Russia’s biggest TV channel showed footage of Moscow but said it was Omsk -- rated number four in Russia's ten most depressive cities

Maria Zakharova

Spokesperson, Russian Foreign Ministry

”On July 4, 2016, the Polish side temporarily suspended the Agreement on Local Border Traffic under the pretext of holding the NATO Summit in Warsaw and the World Youth Day in Krakow... The events that triggered the above actions by Warsaw have long passed. But the Polish side is not eager to end the impasse, which is very surprising…As of today, Poland does not show interest in resuming the LBT. As a result, people's interests on both sides of the border are affected.”

Open border policy and free movement of goods and people is one of the founding principles of the European Union. However, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, armed conflict in Ukraine and buildup of troops inside Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, abused the EU’s willingness to open its borders to Russia.

Putin’s pension reform comments, experts say, were “full of inaccuracies and propaganda.” The things that Putin did not say are the most essential for the sustainability of Russia's economy and ensured income for older generations.